[sambocat]

Hello everyone,

This is my first thread. In summer 2006, I was bitten by a brown recluse spider. I never felt the bite or saw the spider.

Initially, the bite mark was painful and steadily swelled. Upon going to an emergency room at Eisenhower Hospital at Fort Gordon, GA, I was told by a nurse that since I didn't see the spider, it couldn't be a spider bite and wouldn't let me see a doctor. The first two images are at that point.

A few days later, my leg was so swollen that it was painful to put a pair of jeans on (leg barely fit in the jeans). I wish I took pictures of it at that point. I went back to the emergency room, and the nurse who I initially met then sent me to a doctor. The doctor cut into my leg to release some orange colored fluid. It was quite painful. Afterward, I went to a hospital room and was given a lot of antibiotics and had to stay the night.

The following day, a team of medical students and a doctor arrived, and they numbed my leg. The medical students (along with myself) watched the doctor cut into my leg and removed flesh affected by the venom. It was pretty neat. He then packed the wound and discharged me.

The wound took a very long time to heal. I remember having to clean it out everyday and being annoyed since I couldn't go to a pool for the rest of the summer. Life of a 19 year old. The third and fourth images were during the healing process. The pus that would leak out was pretty foul.

The scar is faint 10 years later. I remember it being more pronounced a few years after it finally healed. The last two images were just taken today.

I hope you all enjoyed.

[Lythal]

What a bitch of a nurse, not letting you see a doctor! at least it healed up pretty well

[CrunchyCripple]

How did they officially confirm that it was a spider bite and what species?

Do they test?

[durt]

Healed up nice

[Wiley]

Useful

[kellyhound]

https://getridpests.com/spiders/5-pi...reatments.html
weird the doc started cutting. the wound could be much worse when i see other pics of br spider bites so you were not that unlucky

[sambocat]

I was living in old military barracks at the time that weren't the best in keeping out bugs. I suppose the medical personnel made the determination based on that and perhaps other cases on Fort Gordon, GA? I can't remember them discussing it with me. It is in my military medical record as something like "insect or spider bite, likely brown recluse."

That nurse was difficult to deal with. Even though I couldn't confirm a spider bit me, she probably should have sent me to a doctor at that point anyway. I wish I would've taken pictures of it the second time I went back! It was super swollen and red. I looked like I had Elephantiasis or something. Very nasty.

Regardless, if I see a spider in my house, it's getting squished.

[sabrinahuling]

Killed one of those in my room like 10 years ago. I had no clue what it was until after I killed it and my boyfriend, who was too scared to kill it, told me

[kellyhound]

Originally Posted by sabrinahuling ↗

and my boyfriend, who was too scared to kill it

[vagabond]

Great post, thanks!